Groups to Sue U.S. Fish and Wildlife Over WY Wolf Management Plan

Remember last weeks story about Wyoming’s upcoming wolf hunt? Well, as Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast, my friend!” It now appears that a number of groups have filed suit to block the state’s season.

From this story in the Casper Star-Tribune:Two coalitions of environmental groups filed notice Monday that they intend to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the agency’s decision to end federal protections for wolves in Wyoming. The groups oppose the state of Wyoming’s classification of wolves as predators that can be shot on sight in more than 80 percent of the state when federal protections end Oct. 1. Wyoming also has scheduled a regulated trophy wolf hunt in the remainder of the state, an area around the eastern and southern borders of Yellowstone National Park, starting next month.

According to the story, the groups claim Wyoming’s wolf management plan is too similar to an earlier plan that was rejected by the federal government. However, the state of Wyoming counters that the groups are opposed to any management plan that includes hunting.

From the story: Gov. Matt Mead and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar have worked closely together since Mead took office last year on an agreement to end federal wolf protections. The federal government already has turned over wolf management in Idaho and Montana to those states and both have held wolf hunts…”We anticipated this lawsuit because these groups have shown that any management plan which allows for hunting is unacceptable for them,” Mead said Monday.